A Little Bit Broken
by Weskette
Summary: Andrea's broken. Her mind tells her she's not, and her family suffers. But maybe the world in her mind is worse than the reality she's hiding from.
1. In the Asylum

**This is something my sister and I came up with. It was something we had thought of before, but it was a similar plot with Rick as the main character. I can't stand Rick, so we decided on this.**

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><p><strong>A Little Bit Broken<strong>

_"I don't ever wanna be here,  
>Like punching in a dream breathing life into the nightmare.<em>

_If it falls apart I would surely wake it,  
>Bright lights turn me clean,<br>This is worse than it seems."  
>- Punching in a Dream, The Naked and the Famous<em>

"You lucid today?" The blonde stared back at the man before her with blank eyes, clouded over with pain and nothingness. "I'll take that as a no..." He mumbled. "Listen, I feel like I should talk, even though you can't understand. I'm sorry about what happened. I feel like, in some way, it's our department's fault. Shoulda' nailed that guy years ago..." He paused again. "Lori and Carl say hello, and they hope you get better. I don't know if I'll be able to visit again, but... Well, I'll try." Rick stood, looked sadly at his unresponsive friend and turned away, heading out the door.

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><p>"I wish you'd wake up," Glenn mumbled, staring at the floor. "I mean, I know you're awake now but... But you can't hear me. So I guess I'm talking to myself, in a way." He slipped off his hat, and squeezed it in his hands, nervously wringing it. "Amy's worried. Of course she is... Why wouldn't she be? And your dad is... Horrified. He doesn't want to lose you. It's bad enough about..." He looks up at the blonde sitting stationary in the chair by the window. She wasn't going to say anything to him. He knew that. He shouldn't have even started mentioned that subject. "Get better soon, okay?"<p>

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><p>"Girl, why would you do this?" T-Dog asked, shaking his head. "I know ya been through a lot, but you need to open your eyes. You've been my best friend since middle school. You can get through this." He watched as she stood staring out the window. She was picking at a loose thread on the sleeve of her long sleeved white shirt. She seemed to be mumbling under her breath, but he couldn't understand what she was saying. "When you wake up from whatever this is, you're gonna get an earful from me. You hear that? 'M sure the other's don't like this much either. I know for a fact your dream guy hates this. He hasn't said a good word since you got admitted here." The african american sighed. "This ain't like you. Your little girl wouldn't want this." He stood up, mumbled a goodbye and left.<p>

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><p>"Oh, sweetie... Can you here me? It's Dad." The old man tried to capture his daughter's attention, but it was to no avail. "You've got to recognize me, I'm your father..." He was an emotional man. Tears already started to slip down his face. "I don't want my little girl like this... You're strong, you can push through!" The blonde's face remained emotionless. "I know you lost her, but please. Please, don't make me lose you."<p>

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><p>"Andrea?" Amy tested. "Andrea, c'mon... Wake up! I know how bad it is to wake up and find out someone you loved is gone. I remember when Mom died. How we all cried for days after that. Hell, even months." The younger sister took the older one's hand from the spot besides her. They both sat on the edge of the crisp white bed. "Andrea... We're all worried about you. We want you back. If you die because of this, you'll leave me, dad and your husband behind. That would destroy us. Losing two so close together?" Amy dropped her sister's hand and wrapped two arms around her. "I love you, okay? Get better, or else."<p>

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><p>Silence penetrated through the room. Daryl sat in the visitor's chair, looking at Andrea. She was standing by the nightstand, staring down at nothing. He took a deep breath. "Darlin'... It ain't your fault, y'know that?" He told her, voice strained. "We all did our best t' find her. And at least now we know she ain't hurtin' no more. Our little girl is up in heaven, looking down on us. She's up there with her grandmas, being taken care of." His voice turned dark after that. "And that bastard is gonna fry. He's guilty and they're gonna put him on death row. Fucking asshole is gonna burn in hell." He sighed and shook his head. "I wish I coulda killed him myself. Sent him into the woods and track him down. Hunt him like the fucker he is." He softened, looking at Andrea who still stood silent. "I'm gonna bring you a picture of her. Of all of us. That one Dale, your dad, took last summer. From the beach."<p>

She suddenly looked up, though not at him, but out the window. "She likes mermaids..." she mumbled.

Daryl was taken aback by the sentence. He stood and moved to her. Placing a hand on the side of her face, he made her look up at him. "Were you talkin' t' me?" he asked in a trembling voice. Her eyes were clouded, unseeing. She didn't take note of his presence, nor his words. " 'Course ya weren't..." He wrapped her in a hug that she didn't respond to. "I'mma come back soon, babe. As often as they let me. Love you."

He let go of her and left her room, closing the door slowly, long enough to read the paper on the door.

Room #: R-13  
>Patient ID#: 00119<br>Name: Andrea Dixon  
>Ailment: Emotional Trauma leading to possible insanity; currently catatonic<br>Treatment: Three doses of pill Anxenoad(AN-z-nō-ad)  
>Treatment success rate: NT

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><p>Andrea sat up and stretched. One hand hit the roof of her tent, the other went into the air above Amy. Her younger sister was still sleeping, which was understandable since the sun had only just rose. She smiled and snuck out of the tent, quietly zipping it closed. She saw Daryl sitting next to the campfire, poking at it. He glanced up and saw her, giving her a curt nod. She gave him a small one in return before heading over to the RV. She was barely aquianted with Daryl, though she respected him. Her issue was found with his older brother, a big brute of a man named Merle. He was crass and sexist. Not someone she wanted to hang around.<p>

She opened the back storage of the RV, searching through. She had seen a tackle box inside the vehicle it's self and wondered if there were fishing poles to go with it. Her victory was secured when she followed a tangled mess of fishing line to it's source. "Crap," she muttered as a stray hook caught on the back of her thumb. She quickly put her mouth to it to stop some of the blood then resumed digging out the fishing pole. She was only half way done when Glenn appeared from his tent. He saw her struggling, so he approached.

"Hey, Andrea. Want some help?"

"Sure," she replied happily.

"You sound like you're in a good mood today," he mentioned as he pushed back a few small boards so she could convince the fishing pole from it's spot. She managed to pull it out and spot a second farther back.

"I guess. Not sure why though," she replied, chipper. She placed the first fishing pole down, leaning it against the RV before reaching for the second. "Move that bucket there, would you?"

"Sure." He pulled the bucket away, finding it filled with various smalled items. The second pole came away free in her hand. "Thanks."

"No problem."

The camp had woken up considerably. She saw Jaqui cooking something by the fire, Carl poking at some bug he found and Lori berating him for it. She saw Shane talking to some of the men. The conversation looked a bit heated, so she turned away. "Listen, everybody!" Shane called out, making it pointless for her to go back to the fishing poles. "I need y'all to gather around." The adults listened, forming a circle around him. She pushed the fishing poles back into the RV's trunk and migrated to the circle, where Amy joined her. "We need some volunteers t' make a trip into Atlanta for supplies!" the dark haired man announced.

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><p>"I'll be back, okay?" She whispered to her sister.<p>

"But why do you have to go?" Amy asked, half angry. "There are plenty of others. Some of them don't even have family! Let them put themselves in danger."

Andrea sighed. "I'll be fine. If anything happens while I'm gone, stay with Dale."

"Fine..." the younger blonde mumbled. "You've got Dad's gun, right?"

"Always." Andrea leaned foreward and placed a kiss on her sister's forehead. "We'll be back late today or early tomorrow. I love you. Good bye."

"Be careful..."

Andrea went to climb into the truck, but paused when she saw Dale. "Take care of Amy for me, okay? I don't want her hurt."

"I'll care for her like she was my daughter."

Andrea nodded thankfully and climbed into the back seat of the ford. They squeezed more than they should've into the thing, T-Dog, Glenn, Jacqui, Merle(_Really?_ Andrea thought. _He had to come?_), as well as a man of mexican descent that she hadn't been fully introduced to yet. She was nearly forced into sitting besides the sexist and disgusting man that was Merle, but she grabbed Glenn's arm and pulled him into the seat besides hers. He muttered some exclamation of surprise, but she quickly hissed the reason and he nodded, understanding. Many advances, very unwanted advances, had been made by Merle towards Andrea. God, how she wanted to kill the bastard. She had sneered at him the first time, walking away from him. The second time he had been more than a little drunk, and she had been saved by Daryl showing up and dragging the unwanted man away, swearing all the while.

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><p><strong>TBC...<strong>

**Do you understand what's going on?**


	2. She never came home

**Okay, I've got three different realities in this one. The one in all italics is the past.**

**I also introduce in the actual reality (the one where Daryl's waiting for Andrea to snap out of it) the name of Andrea and Daryl's daughter. I'll try to answer any questions you have!**

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><p><strong>A Little Bit Broken<strong>

_"If I smile and don't believe,_  
><em>Soon I know I'll wake from this dream,<em>  
><em>Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken,<em>  
><em>Hello. I am the lie living for you so you can hide.<em>  
><em>Don't cry." - Evanescence<em>

"Andrea, sweetie," Carol spoke. "You've got to move so I can change the sheets." Monotonously, Andrea stood, blank look in her eye, and moved over to the window. Carol watched with sad eyes. Andrea was her newest patient. She was only allowed two, same as all the other caretakers in the asylum. The other was a man, stronger than her. He'd strike out at nothing, sometimes hurting himself, sometimes hurting others. She had a few bruises, but nothing she couldn't handle.

Andrea, though, was much more complacent. She listened to Carol, but wouldn't reply. She was always in the dreamlike state, able to hear but unable to comprehend. Carol could tell her to move somewhere or to shower or eat and she would. She wouldn't say anything about it, only listen and obey. The only thing Andrea seemed to control herself was when she needed to use the bathroom.

Carol thought it sweet how the blonde was visited often. Her younger sister and her husband would come in every visiting day(Thursdays and Mondays). Every once in a while a friend would visit, stop in to check up on her. She had never had a patient visited as often as that. She rarely had a patient that was visited at all.

That Thursday, Amy had come in. She pulled a chair over by her older sister at the window. "Hey, Andrea," the younger woman stated. "Any chance you'll snap out of this yet?" There, of course, was no answer from the woman as she stared out of the window, not really focusing on anything. Amy sighed. "I won't be able to visit on Monday." She shrugged, frowning. "I have a huge test that I can't miss. Even to visit a sick relative. College sucks that way, huh?" Andrea was forever silent, eyes straight forward. "Daryl said he'd be in soon. He'll spend as long as he can with you, too. He called into work." Amy talked for an hour, until Daryl finally did come in. She informed Andrea of how the case she had been working was taken over by her her co-worker, Jade. She told of T-Dog's new girlfriend, their father's anxiety, and how she'd send Glenn in to take her spot on Monday, so Andrea would still be visited twice that day. Daryl walked in just as Amy was saying good bye. "I'll see you next Thursday, okay? Get better!" Amy turned around and saw him. "Oh, hey, big bro. Take care of her!" She gave him a smile before exiting.

Daryl looked at Andrea who had moved over to sit on the edge of the bed. She was picking at a lose thread on her sleeve this time. "... She's the most optimistic person I ever met," he said, looking at his catatonic wife. He sat down besides her, murmuring in a low voice.

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><p>Anger flooded through Andrea. Glenn was out there, getting a man who had ruined their chances to escape. She hadn't even met him and she wanted to murder him. That was mainly the reason why that, when the door opened to let in her friend and the accused, she grabbed him and pushed him back against whatever was there. She pushed her gun close to his face. "You son of a bitch! We're all going to die here now, because of you!"<p>

"Andrea! Andrea, stop!" Glenn begged, trying to pull her off of the startled man. The blonde let out a frustrated growl and let go of the man's shirt. "We can't go back now! There's no way we can get through the walkers out there! We're dead. And I'll never see my sister again."

"Girl, cool it..." T-Dog said, setting a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off, dragging a hand down her face.

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><p><em>"I'm sorry. We can't do anything until tomorrow," Rick said, shaking his head gently.<em>

_Andrea's face darkened, a deep, angry scowl replacing the desperation that had been there before. Tears continued out of her eyes. "What do you mean? My daughter's missing!" Daryl was besides her, just as angry though he held it in. "She's been gone for over five hours! Why the hell wouldn't you start looking?"_

_"I'm sorry, but we can't initiate a search until twenty four hours after the person has gone missing," Shane added from his spot besides Rick. "You said she never came home from school, right? But the busdriver reported she was dropped off? Maybe she went with a friend to their house."_

_"We asked our neighbors already! And there's only twenty feet between her bus stop and our house!" She slammed her fist down on the table. "Our daughter is missing and you aren't doing a damn thing about it!" The blonde let out a frustrated growl and whirled around, charging out of the sheriff's office. Daryl followed at a slower pace, only catching up to her once she had climbed into the car. She was curled in the passenger's seat, crying. He slipped into the driver's side._

_"Andrea..." he said softly as he put a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off._

_"Drive me home, Daryl..."_

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><p>Daryl slipped into his house. It was achingly empty now. Andrea was at that place, that horrible place, and their daughter... Oh god, she wouldn't ever come home. He tossed his keys down on the counter. They clinked together, metal on metal, echoing through the abode. He sighed, kicking his shoes into the corner by the door.<p>

Collapsing on the couch, he put his hand to his forehead. He almost wanted to get a beer, sit back and drink while the silence prevailed. But he wasn't going to cope like his father had. Drink away the pain and the sorrow. He wouldn't forgive himself if he did that or for inevitably forsaking Andrea during it. Alcohal was the devil in their house. At times, they might have wine. If they ever wanted anything stronger, they'd go to the bar. But they hadn't gotten drunk since before their daughter had been born. And Daryl was determined not to break that streak.

He leaned forward, picking up the picture that was resting facedown on the coffee table. Andrea had taken it down and cried over it. He could still see the water marks where the tears had dried after she had tossed it down and sobbed against his chest. It was a picture of the people he had come to know as family. Andrea, Dale, Amy. And his daughter. The eight year old with her mama's hair and her daddy's eyes.

_Sophia._


	3. Story of Them

**This is the story of Daryl's proposal.**

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><p><strong>A Little Bit Broken<strong>

_Darling, started getting next to me  
>Darling, thought about how this could be<br>If your love is half as true  
>As the love I'm offering you<br>Oh darling, I think it's gonna work out fine  
>-I think it's gonna work out fine, Linda Ronstadt (ft. James Taylor)<em>

**_Story of Them_**

"Hello?" Daryl spoke, putting the phone to his ear.

"Uh, Daryl? It's Jade." Jade was Andrea's best friend from college. "Can you come pick up your girlfriend? She's... A little drunk."

The man sighed. "I knew I shouldn't a' let 'er go out drinkin' with you."

"Hey, it's not like you could've stopped her. Just come pick her up! We're at The Lab," the brunette laughed into the phone.

"... You're drunk too, huh?" It was too late. She had already hung up. Daryl pulled up outside The Lab ten minutes later. He called Jade back, but there was no answer. He sighed and parked the car, getting out. It was late, almost twelve. He already knew he could blame Jade for Andrea drinking. That woman always had something up her sleeve to get her friend to do something.

He went inside the club. Jade and Andrea were sitting at the bar. Andrea had just taken a shot and slammed the glass back down on the table. He sat down besides her. She noticed immediatly. "Daryl!" She threw herself at him, claiming his lips greedily. She tasted like whiskey. He pulled away, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder to hold her back. She smiled. "Let's get drunk."

He sighed. "You are drunk, babe." He looked over at Jade who was just as drunk, if not more so, as Andrea. "C'mon, Blondie. Let's get you and Jade home." He led them out of the place, making Andrea get in the passenger's seat of their car and standing ouside it with Jade. He took out his cellphone and called Jade's boyfriend, Jason. "Hey, Jason. Get your ass to The Lab. Jade's drunk."

Jason groaned. "Why can't you drop her off? I was sleeping."

Daryl rolled his eyes. " 'Cause I'm gonna have enough trouble with her best friend, here. So get your ass up and come get your girl."

"What the hell..."

"Shut it. And hurry up." Daryl hung up.

He looked over at Jade who was pouting about having to go home. "You're sucha party pooper, Daryl... Why'd you even come?" Her words were slurred.

" 'Cause you called me. Remember?"

Her mood instantly changed and she laughed. "Oh yeah... I did."

He sighed and sat back against his car. After a few minutes, a beat up jeep pulled up infront of them, a tired blonde man driving. He rolled down the window.

"C'mon, Jade. Let's go back to the apartment," he said in a bland voice. Jade nodded and got in the car.

Daryl watched them drive away and got into his own vehicle. Andrea was unusually quiet. When drunk, she usually talked continuously or was trying to get in his pants. He was surprised at her silence, but wasn't complaining. It was easier to drive without her trying to unbutton his pants or touching him, well, everywhere.

Her attitude changed as soon as Daryl closed the door to the house. She launched herself at him, pressing as close as she could. He was surprised by her sudden attack. He held her back, trying to get a word in.

"Andrea, babe, stop."

She huffed then whined. "Why?"

" 'Cause your drunk," he replied.

"So?"

"Listen, blondie," he started, hands on her hips. "Tomorrow, when you're sober, you can fuck my brains out if ya'd like. But not while you're drunk. You won't remember a thing if we do it tonight, 'nd I know you hate that."

She nodded, semi-disapointed. "Fine..."

After a yawn, Daryl dipped his head towards their shared room. "C'mon. Let's go get some sleep." Both headed to the room. Daryl stopped and made her brush her teeth first, so she didn't have to wake to the taste of booze still in her mouth. The alchohal seemed to have worn off a bit by the time she changed and climbed into bed besides him. He wrapped himself around her, her back pressing against his chest. She smiled, snuggling down into the blankets.

"You take such good care 'a me..." she murmured.

He shrugged, kissing her forehead. "I try t' treat a lady the way she oughta' be treated... 'Sides, I'm lucky I got you."

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and rolled over so she could face him. "You're a great guy, Daryl. And I mean, like, the best..." She paused. "And I really love you. A lot." She opened her eyes and gave him a small, still drunken smile. "You know what'd be really great?"

He shrugged, a smirk on his lips. "Dunno. What?"

She squeezed her eyes shut. "You can't laugh. Promise not to."

"M'kay. I promise not t' laugh," he vowed, waiting for her to tell.

"Okay, I'll tell you then." She was silent for a good minute before she actually said it. "It would be really great... And I mean really, really, really great, if you asked me to marry you."

He didn't laugh. Instead, he kissed her cheek. "That what you want, Blondie?" he asked in a serious tone.

She nodded. "Mhmm. And soon. Really soon." She placed her head on his shoulder as he switched to laying on his back.

"Okay, then. Soon... I'll ask ya' soon."

When Andrea woke up, she had a bit of a hangover and couldn't remember much from the night prior. When she finally made her way out of her room and down to the kitchen, she found Daryl cooking breakfast. The counter island had a few different breakfast foods; eggs, french toast, and fried potatoes.

"Morning, beautiful."

She gave him a tired smile. "Morning, Daryl." He put his hands on her waist and she slipped her arms over his shoulders. She pulled him into a long, deep kiss which was interrupted by a sizzling sound coming from the stove. He pulled away.

"Gah... Sorry, darlin'. Gotta cook," he explained.

She smiled and sat at the island counter in the center of the kitchen, where most of the food was. "What's with the big breakfast?" she asked.

"Figured you'd have a pretty bad hangover after last night. Thought food might help. There's one more reason, but ya' gotta wait for that." He forked bacon out of the pan on the stove and put it on a plate. He set the plate on the island, took the pan off the heat, and looked at her.

"Do I get a hint?" she questioned, grabbing a piece of bacon and biting into it.

"I dunno. Do you remember talkin' t' me before ya' fell asleep last night?" He handed her a plate and set one down for himself.

The lawyer shook her head, taking the plate and scooping some potatoes onto it. "Not a thing."

He smirked, serving some eggs to himself. "Well, you told me somethin' you'd like. I'd already been plannin' on giving you it, but last night, you kinda got my ass movin'." He stabbed his food with a fork. "So I decided today."

Andrea bit her lip. "I don't remember asking for anything."

"Ya' didn't really ask. Just said it'd be great. I'm hopin' it wasn't drunken ramblings."

She shrugged and took a bite of french toast. Her eyebrows raised. "Wow, Daryl. This is really good."

"I tried makin' waffles, but that goddamned waffle maker decided it didn't like me." He held up his left hand to show a nasty burn on the back of his pinky. "Fucker messed up my pinky."

She gave him a soft smile, took his hand and kissed the burn. "There. It's all better." Daryl squeezed her hand.

"Your gonna be a good mama someday. Your kids are gonna be lucky." Andrea bit her lip, looked away and looked back. "Any chance they're going to be your kids too?" She looked unsure, hoping he wouldn't reject. He moved over to sit besides her. Taking her left hand, he reached into his back pocket. She looked at him, confused. "What're you...?"

"I want them t' be," he said as he stared at her with his deep blue eyes. "Listen, Andrea, I'm not really good at romance and what not... You know that. But, uh, I've been tryin' t' think of a time. Last night, you said you wanted me to..." She had gathered what he meant, and felt a fluttery nervousness in her stomach. "Look, doll, you're the sexiest bitch I've ever met, and I love ya'." He held up a ring. It had a small emerald besides a sapphire of the same size. "I know I'm not good enough for ya'. Never have been. But I wanted t' ask... If ya'd marry me." He looked at her, nervous. She was still staring, jaw dropped, at him and the engagement ring he held. He fidgeted, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.

Andrea finally managed to stutter out a reply. "My God... Yes!" Daryl smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. He slipped the ring onto her finger and she leapt at him, squeezing with all her might. There lips met in a kiss that was much more than the one when she first entered the kitchen. It took five minutes for them to finally pull away from each other.

"So you do want kids?" she asked, breathless.

He nodded. "I don't think I'd be that great of a dad, but yeah." She smiled, shifting to sit in his lap. "You'd be an amazing dad. And if we have a little girl, you'll be great at scaring her boyfriends when she's a teenager." Andrea pressed a kiss to Daryl's jawline. "So, was this breakfast planned? Or did you just do this all in the moment?"

"I got some help. But your sister can be a smartass."

She slapped his shoulder gently. "Watch your mouth." She raised an eyebrow. "And you seriously asked my twelve year old sister for romantic advice?"

"... Yeah."

Andrea laughed. "I'm glad you finally asked." She stood up and trailed her hand up his thigh, stopping just before his groin. "Anyway, Daryl... If I remember right, you said... What were the exact words? That I could 'fuck your brains out' if I wanted?" Her hand moved further up. "Well, I want that, Daryl."


End file.
